The time has come, the lizard said, to talk of many things...of carrots, beets and rainbow chard...of peas and beans and raptor wings...why the sand is burning hot and why Borrego sings!

WELCOME ...A new resident ? Love the desert? Gardening a passion? Live in Borrego Springs? Thought you could not have a garden in the low desert desert? Ever wonder what desert living is like? READ ON !

Raised Vegetable Beds

Raised Vegetable Beds Resting Until Fall Planting Season

Palo Verde

Desert Native, Blue Palo Verde

A River Runs Through It

View Through A Wet Window

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Food Garden Update

Strawberries now ripe. Second planting of peas now flowering. Fordhook limas planted in raised beds March 26th sprouting and covered with floating cover ( just in case )Squash planted from six pac flowering and producing. Harvesting spinach and last of lettuce. Beets recovering from aphis, carrots not yet big enough to pull ( except by the carrot loving dog ), reduced aphis infected chard to one healthy large plant, which is more than enough for two people,French radishes ( white ) are mature...and we are innundated with tomatoes!

A New Borrego Garden Path

Pathway

It's a Boojum...

Boojum

Captivating Top Knot

Colorful Vine

In a Hidden Niche

Bees and Flowers

Mexican Lime- Bees at Work

Citrus Blossoms

Exotic Aroma

Ocotillo

On a Cloudy Day

Four Raised Beds, October

Vegetable Garden

Desert Gardening

Desert gardening...what a pastime. Natives anxious to attack with thorns, stickers or burrs - earth always thirsty - critters always a step ahead of you - dainty moths turn into hungry caterpillars - coyote eats up part of the irrigation system - birds sample one fruit at a time - gopher pops up unexpected . Yet the first carrot, pea or tender piece of lettuce, the first lime or lemon of the season, the first cactus bloom , the first bright green mesquite sprig, the first bud on a plant...all give such a feeling of delight and satisfaction. Not to be traded for anything else! (JGP)

Super Addiction

When I started the blog, I thought a few words now and then would suffice...WRONG!

A strange pattern is emerging. Seems that guilt has stepped up to bat. Now, if I don't post every few days I FEEL THAT I HAVEN'T HAD MY FIX! I wonder if other bloggers have noticed this same phenomenom.

Beavertail

Close-up

Borrego Dragon

Huge New Sculpture

The Borrego Dragon Fable

IN THE EARLY DAYS, coyote walked many paths. One day, as he was pursuing his travels, he came to a very wide valley. Others warned him as he approached the valley, " You must not enter this place...NO ONE who has entered has ever returned. It is a bad place, guarded by a giant dragon, who kills all who try to pass through. To continue your journey safely, we strongly advise you to go the long way...around this evil place." Well, coyote listened, for he was very smart and often heeded good advice. However, coyote was also lazy and was often prone to use shortcuts. He figured the valley would save him a lot of time on this particular journey. He looked carefully and saw nothing much to alarm him. He decided to enter and pass through the valley. At first, he noticed nothing amiss. However, as he traveled deeper into that still, quiet place, he thought to himself, "This IS an unusual valley, for sure...I see no movement of any type and I am getting to feel a bit strange about this place." He did notice, however, some tall straight trees which had lost all their leaves and made the place look barren, indeed. OH,NO...he also noticed, under the trees, piles of old BONES... and the more he looked, the more bones he saw. He said, " I sure see a lot of bones, but I don't see any dragon...I'll bet he no longer lives here." And, with that, he heard a thunderous voice which echoed over the valley..." HAH, COYOTE! You should have listened to the advice...You are in my mouth, which IS the entrance to the valley!" Oh,oh, caught in a trap. But coyote is smart and moves quickly...as he heard Dragon's first words, he raced to one of the dead trees and, with a mighty yank, pulled it from the earth. He wedged the tree between the Dragon's jaws and as he did this, many animals of all kinds came running forth...pumas, bears, mountain sheep and more...even the smallest animals, gnats, flies, tics, bees and more...lizards, snakes, toads, salamanders and more...all ran from the Dragon's depths to freedom. Coyote watched as Dragon's jaws closed upon the sharp tree stake. He soon died and from that time to this, many of those same animals live here, in this place...and from time to time, many of the old bones and pieces of the dead trees are found here, in this very valley!

Senita Cactus

Plump and Happy

Outlaws

Riders View Borrego's Wilderness (photo by Jeff Divine )

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Sonoran Palo Verde

On the Road to Recovery

Mexican Palo Verde

Thin Crown

Monsoon

August 30, 2012, A Cloudburst

Follow by Email

Native Palm Grove

A Shady Oasis

Chuparosa

Front Foreground...Wild Cluster of Chuparosa. First Rain Will Result in Green Leaves and Red Flowers

About Me

A 20 year Borrego resident, I gleaned most of my low desert knowledge through trial and error ( still in that mode ). Learned about native plants while working as a Volunteeer at Anza Borrego Desert State Park and for ABDNHA. I just LOVE desert gardening because it offers so many surprises...Like the time I planted peas and found little holes the next morning...every pea had been lugged away by some tiny critter! Bird nests appear as if by magic in my garden...desert helpers, gobbling up insects and pollinating for me. I believe in organic gardening and stay away from insecticides. Use mucho mulch and TLC. Am rewarded every day by seeing something new in this miraculous place!